Every city has terms all its own: “In a classic Chicago accent,
which now is mainly heard among older [Chicagoans], you hear
‘des,’ ‘dem’ and ‘dos’ type things. Substituting ‘d’ for ‘th’ actually comes from immigrants,” says Chicago-based journalist and
author Edward McClelland. These regional quirks start to create
new words that are then passed down through generations.
In celebration of the slang that makes up the Midwest—as
well as words that have been adopted by Chicagoans old and
young—the Echo staff compiled a list of “Chicagoisms” to keep
you in the loop. (Get it?)

3. Chicago’s status in relation to New
York City. The place where Chicagoans
go to have a laugh.
4. The busy Chicago street that snakes
along the lake.
6. A room with a toilet.
8. A substyle of hip-hop dance. Also
means something is good.
10. Anish Kapoor’s stainless steel
outdoor sculpture, Cloudgate.
11. Chicago’s public transit train system.
14. “I put that chair in the place I
shoveled for my car; don’t even think
of parking there!”
15. This 13-block stretch from the
Chicago River to Oak Street is
Chicago’s equivalent of New York’s
Fifth Avenue.
17. Chance the Rapper’s version of
“yada yada, blah blah blah.”
18. I-290
19. The latest film you’re going to see.

1. Superficial. Fake.
2. The former name of Willis Tower.
5. The act of casually leaving a place
or an event before anyone else.
7. The moniker the New York Sun gave
Chicago when it was vying to be the
site of the 1893 World’s Fair.
9. What easterners call “soda” and
Texans call “Coke.”
11. The colloquial name for a
midwestern grocery chain.
12. Onomatopoeia often associated
with Al Capone.
13. The former name for Macy’s.
ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND AT
E C H O M AG O N L I N E . C O M